Okay, forcing Pac-12 QB Rankings this year seems like a less-than-fruitful exercise. Yet, here we are. While it’s just Oregon State and Washington State in the mix, we figured we’d do these Pac-12 QB Rankings a bit different, explaining the Beavers and Cougars QB situation, but also ranking them against their Mountain West counterparts.
2024 Pac-12 QB Rankings
As with all of our conference rankings and our national quarterback evaluations, the Pac-12 QB rankings below consider everything involved with quarterbacking at the major college football level.
While statistics are listed, they were not the lone deciding factor in ranking the athletes. The list below prefers programs with a solidified quarterback situation and one signal-caller who plays significant snaps against top-tier competition. Two-quarterback systems will always be looked down upon, especially in those cases where an answer has not yet been provided for the long term.
Other factors in these rankings include but are not limited to game film, injury history, play-calling, offensive system knowledge and continuity, general quarterbacking mechanics, level of competition, the elevation of supporting casts, and several other influential factors.
All Other QB Rankings
National 1-134 | ACC | B1G | Big 12 | SEC | AAC | CUSA | MAC | MWC | Sun Belt | Independent
1) John Mateer | Washington State
Preseason Rank: 2 (+1)
To say John Mateer has been a revelation would be an understatement of massive proportions. Through two games this year, Mateer has been nothing short of dominant and the Washington State Cougars may have found something special in No. 10.
We waited to push him any higher after a Week 1 game against Portland State that looked like he was throwing on air, but after Week 2, it’s safe to say we have something here to go off of.
With two games in the bag, Mateer has showcased something different and potentially special in each. His darts up the middle and blown-coverage viewing against the Vikings was top-notch. And then, his ability to make defenders miss in space during their Week 2 matchup against Texas Tech was terrific to watch.
Yes, there are some things to clean up in the passing game for Mateer, but he gives the Cougars a chance to win games like we hadn’t seen in a while, at least from a dual-threat perspective. It was a ridiculous display of contact balance and elusiveness we saw against Texas Tech in Week 2 that really turned our heads, but we’ll want to see him continue to improve as a passer before he goes much higher in the national rankings.
2) Gevani McCoy | Oregon State
Preseason Rank: 1 (-1)
Well, what do you know? Former Idaho QB Gevani McCoy, please stand up. And while you’re at it, please showcase what made you such a highly sought-after recruit in the portal.
Two weeks in, McCoy has been terrific for the Beavers with his arm talent in 2024, tossing two touchdowns and averaging a ridiculous completion rate if you adjust for outside factors. McCoy has thrown for just under 300 yards, but he’s hardly thrown a ‘full game’s’ worth of attempts because they haven’t needed him to.
We know he has the ability to take games over as he did during that now-famous 2022 season when he won the Jerry Rice Award, but we haven’t had to see that just yet from him. And that’s a good thing for Oregon State.
Pac-12 vs. Mountain West QB Rankings
Here’s how the Oregon State and Washington State QB situations stack up against the rest of the Mountain West quarterbacks this season, given the fact that they’ll be playing de facto MWC schedules.
1) Mikey Keene | Fresno State
2) Matthew Sluka | UNLV
3) John Mateer | Washington State
4) Devon Dampier | New Mexico
5) Gevani McCoy | Oregon State
6) Brendon Lewis | Nevada
7) Emmett Brown | San Jose State
8) Brayden Schager | Hawaii
9) Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi | Colorado State
10) Maddux Madsen | Boise State
11) Danny O’Neill | San Diego State
12) Bryson Barnes | Utah State
13) John Busha | Air Force
14) Evan Svoboda | Wyoming
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